Nature's Reprieve

I don't know if I was given a sign, but the winter has been a little late in coming and because o this, I have been able to get some yard things done that under normal weather circumstances would have been challenging if not impossible, especially if we had gotten snow like last year. Included in this category is raking, storing the power equipment, and splitting/stacking wood. I've also been able to store the hoses, which froze but thawed later in the day. The wood pile is ongoing and will continue throughout the year, and we did manage to get over to the two gardens and clear them out. The garden was a big thorn in our sides and was bugging us, but we managed to pull out the plants and get them into the compost. Personally I think I'm done with gardening, but more on this later.

In the past I've allowed several of these duties to lapse and simply let them sit over the winter, with adverse consequences, mind you. The big one is the lawnmower, which really should be stored for the winter. I'm pretty anal retentive about the chainsaw and at the very least drain the tank and get the carb cleared, but somehow the lawnmower isn't as much of a priority for me. Against the advice of the pros at Joe's (I'm a poet), I've left the gas in the tank over winter and then tried to start it in the spring, only to have it die out on me. I let it slide again this year but since it's been a warm fall/winter, I was able to finally get it done, thankfully.

I still need to do a few things and it goes without saying that I won't get it all done, but I'll keep plugging away as long as Mother Nature gives me the opportunity.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to derjoe for the pic.